


Up To Something

by Joycee



Category: White Collar
Genre: Birthday Presents, Fluff, Gen, Suspicions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:05:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal scrambles to put together a very special birthday present for Peter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up To Something

Elizabeth squealed with delight, "Oh Neal, what a perfect idea for a present!"

Neal smiled proudly, "Well, since it's Peter's 50th, I thought it should be something special."

El frowned, "But how will you ever be able to do it without Peter knowing it?"

Neal admitted, "Well, yeah, that's a challenge, but I have an idea how to do it. I'll need your help, though."

Elizabeth patted his hand and offered, "Of course, Sweetie. Anything."

Neal explained, "Well, I'm thinking we can use a basic misdirect."

Elizabeth laughed, "A con?" 

Neal confirmed, "Yeah, you could say that. I'm going to let him think I'm up to something illegal. He'll put all his energy into trying to figure out what it is and he won't notice what I'm really doing."

"Ooh, that's just crazy enough to work," agreed Elizabeth.

Neal chuckled, "Yeah, we'll let the smart FBI agent think he's got it all figured out."

Elizabeth worried, "Still you only have a couple of weeks. Do you think you can get to everyone in that time?"

"I think so," Neal affirmed. "Why don't I start with you right now?"

"Oh, does it matter what I'm wearing?" Elizabeth asked self consciously.

Neal assured her, "No, You're fine just the way you are. Let me get started today and then I'll need another opportunity to finish later."

Elizabeth admitted, "I'm a little nervous. I've never done this before."

Neal said fondly, "You're a natural, Elizabeth. I'm going to enjoy this."

Neal was just finishing when they heard Peter coming in. Neal quickly put his things away before Peter could see them.

Peter looked at Neal and his wife together looking like they had a guilty secret. He joked, "If I were a jealous man, I might wonder what's been going on here while I wasn't home."

Neal replied, "Then I better get out of here before there's any trouble."

"Wait, aren't you going to stay for dinner?" asked Peter. "You know I was just kidding."

"Oh, well, I know, but I have some things I need to do," Neal explained.

After he left, Peter said, "I hope Neal wasn't upset about anything, Hon. I had the feeling he was just making an excuse."

El said casually, "Oh, I don't think so. I think he really did have something else he needed to do."

"Really?" Peter commented suspiciously, "I suppose you know what that is, too."

"I might," admitted El. "I wouldn't worry about it, Hon. He's a grown man. He's entitled to a little privacy."

"Only if he stays out of trouble," Peter grumbled. El kissed him and changed the subject.

Neal asked June if she would be next. She was glad to oblige and was excited that it was a secret from Peter. Neal could take his time in the privacy of her home, but he wanted to work in the daytime and he had to adjust to her busy social schedule.

He realized there was just no way he could do this without taking more time off from work. He knew if he said he was sick, Peter would come over and check on him. He started making excuses to take long lunch hours.

Peter noticed and got curious. He told Jones he had a special task for him. "Can you follow Neal at lunchtime for a couple days and see where he's going. Something seems to be taking up a lot of his time. See if he's meeting anyone, too.

Neal took that opportunity to ask Jones to work with him on the birthday project. Jones was a little hesitant at first, but when Neal explained it, he agreed. Jones reported back to Peter that Neal had been attending showings of new artists in trendy commercial galleries.

After a few days, Peter told Jones he could stop following Neal. He decided to see if he could get Neal to talk about what he was doing. Peter asked Neal, "Hey, how about having dinner with El and me on Saturday night?"

"Oh, I wish I could Peter, but I already made plans," Neal told him regretfully.

"Are your plans with anyone I know or anyone I should know?" Peter asked resentfully.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Neal said with a bright smile. 

"Do you need some company then? Is it something we could do together? We never see each other outside of work anymore," Peter complained.

"Oh I'm sorry, Peter. You'd just be bored. We'll get together soon," said Neal glibly.

Later at home with El, Peter worried, "Something is going on with Neal. I can't understand why he's avoiding me."

El smiled, "Oh Hon, I'm sure Neal isn't avoiding you. Is there some reason he would be upset with you?"

"No, I don't think so, but he's definitely up to something. I just know it," Peter insisted.

El put her arms around him and reassured him, "Well, I'm sure if he is, you'll catch him. Now why don't we enjoy a Saturday night date together?"

Peter kissed her and murmured, "Okay, that'll be nice. I'm sure you're right. You know how I worry about Neal. Maybe I worry too much sometimes."

Neal was counting on Mozzie to be easy to enlist, but he had suddenly pulled one of his unexplained disappearing acts. Neal checked all the safe houses he knew about, but didn't find him. Nobody seemed to know where he was. Neal thought he'd have to resort to carrier pigeon if Mozzie didn't show up soon. 

Neal expected the hardest person to get was going to be Reese Hughes, but Neal really wanted to include him. He asked Elizabeth if she could arrange a meeting for them. She agreed and made plans for them to meet at her business right after work one day.

Peter noticed that Neal kept staring up at him from his desk. When Peter looked back, Neal went back to whatever he was busily working on. Peter went down and asked casually, "What are you doing?"

Neal said innocently, "Oh it was just a drawing I was making. It really doesn't have anything to do with work. I was bored by all these old case files."

Peter said uncertainly, "Well, okay, I didn't mean to give you a hard time. I just wondered."

Neal worked diligently with Diana and Jones to arrange times when they could slip away from work during the day. That involved some creative excuse making, but they managed it.

Peter was definitely becoming suspicious that something was going on and he knew it involved Neal. He just didn't know what it was. Suddenly everyone seemed to be keeping something from him. It was if they were all covering for Neal.

Every day, Neal made sure to visit a museum or gallery, a bank, or a jewelry store within his radius. When Peter pulled up Neal's tracking data, he couldn't help noticing. Peter started worrying that Neal was up to something illegal, but he couldn't figure out what.

Peter mentioned his concerns to Hughes, but he dismissed him, saying, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about Caffrey. He seems to be doing all right lately."

The idea that Neal was conning everyone in the office into helping him seemed kind of far fetched, but Peter called Diana and Jones into his office anyway. He asked, "Do you know what Caffrey's been up to lately?"

Jones questioned, "Why? Has Neal done something wrong?"

Diana added, "What has made you suspicious, Boss? I haven't noticed anything, but with Neal I suppose it's always a possibility."

Peter frowned, "I noticed you had lunch with him the other day, Jones. He didn't say anything about what he's been doing?"

Jones said innocently, "No, we just had lunch. He talked about some sculpture exhibit he'd been to see. He did mention that some of the pieces were very rare and worth a fortune. I didn't think anything of it."

Peter mused, "Hmm, what about you, Diana? I saw you leave the office with Neal the other day. Where did you go?"

Diana replied, "Oh, he took me to the studio of a photographer he knows. Neal thought I might want to use him to take some baby pictures of Theo. There was a display of framed portraits of famous people when they were children. Now that I think of it, Neal showed a lot of interest in the store's security system."

"Can you think of any reason Neal would be looking to steal something? Is there any reason he needs money?" speculated Peter. "Maybe he's been gambling or something."

Jones pointed out, "Neal's pretty good at gambling. It's more likely he'd be winning than losing."

Peter sighed, "Well, anyway, just keep an eye on him and let me know if anything suspicious comes up."

Neal went to see Elizabeth and confided, "I think we need do one more thing. I'd like for us to have a party for Peter with everyone there when he opens his present. June said we could have it her house, but she'd like you to do the planning."

Elizabeth gushed, "Ooh, let's make it a surprise party! It'll be fun."

Neal suggested, "What we could do is let Peter think we're planning a surprise party for him."

"Um, aren't surprise parties supposed to be secret?" asked Elizabeth.

"That's the whole idea. Peter's getting awfully suspicious of me. Maybe he will think that's the secret we're trying to keep from him so he won't think I'm up to anything else," Neal explained.

El agreed, "I'd like to have a party for him anyway. We can just accidentally drop a few hints."

That evening she brought some party supplies home from work and made a point of hastily putting them away just when Peter came home. She told him, "I saw June the other day and she asked me if I could get some supplies for a party she's having."

Peter suggested, "Want me to take them over there for you? Maybe I could stop in and visit Neal while I'm there."

"Oh, you really miss him, don't you Hon? Still think he's up to something?" El worried.

"I'm sure of it," Peter said. "Maybe if I go over there, I can figure out what it is."

As soon as Peter left, Elizabeth called Neal and warned him. She worried, "You don't have anything you don't want him to see lying around, do you?"

Neal assured her, "No, it's okay. June has been letting me use some space downstairs. Thanks for letting me know he's coming, though. I'll alert June."

When Peter showed up, June greeted him at the door. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief as she said pleasantly, "Hi Peter. It's nice to see you. I noticed you haven't been around much lately."

"Yes, well, Neal seems to be very busy lately. You don't know what he's been up to, do you?" Peter asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, just the usual, I guess. I haven't noticed anything abnormal," June informed him.

"Will you tell me if you do, June? It's just that I worry about Neal," Peter admitted.

"Of course, I will. I'm sure you don't have anything to be concerned about, though. You know, Neal reminds me of Byron. Sometimes Byron just needed some time to himself," June reassured.

"Yeah, maybe that's it. I don't mean to worry you," Peter said.

Neal appeared at the top of the stairs. "Peter!" He said pleasantly. "Are you here to see me?"

"Actually, I was dropping off some things Elizabeth sent over to June, but if you have time, I'd like to talk to you."

"Oh sure," Neal agreed. "Come on up." 

Peter looked around, but everything seemed the same in Neal's rooms as far as Peter could tell. He suddenly felt awkward and said nervously, "So, Neal."

Neal smiled, "So what's going on, Peter? You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I just wondered if everything was going okay for you? You know you can always come to me if anything is bothering you, don't you?" Peter said awkwardly.

Neal smiled again and said, "Sure, but really Peter, everything is fine. What's worrying you?"

Peter admitted, "Well, you've been out of the office a good bit and I, uh, checked the data from your anklet and I noticed some unusual patterns of activity."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that things have been so slow at work, I didn't think you'd mind," Neal prevaricated.

Peter said a little sadly, "We used to spend time together, Neal, but lately I feel like you've been avoiding me."

"No I haven't. Really. I'll be seeing you this weekend." Neal gasped and then he sighed, "Oh, I wasn't supposed to let you know that. Elizabeth's going to kill me."

Peter puzzled, "Is El planning something I don't know about for this weekend?"

Neal said hastily, "No, no, just forget I said anything. Okay?"

Peter smiled knowingly and said, "Okay. I won't tell. See you this weekend then."

When he left, Neal called Elizabeth to report to her what happened. They giggled over how well their plan was working out. El asked, "Is everything about ready for your surprise, Neal?"

Neal frowned, "Everything except Mozzie. I haven't been able to find him. I guess I can do it without him if I need to."

Just then the door opened and Mozzie strolled in. He headed straight for the wine rack and asked, "What can you do without me?"

Neal told Elizabeth he had to go. He said, "Mozz! You're just in time. I need you to come downstairs with me."

Mozzie followed and Neal called out, "June, Mozzie's here!"

She hurried to meet them and said, "Oh good. The last piece falls into place. Peter's really going to have a nice surprise."

Neal filled Mozzie in on the plan as he worked. Mozzie loved a good conspiracy.

When Peter got home, he found El making phone calls about catering arrangements for a party. He asked with his eyes twinkling, "What are you planning, Hon?"

"Oh, nothing," El said a little too quickly, "I didn't realize you were listening."

"It's not a surprise, is it?" suggested Peter. "I mean my birthday is coming up soon. Does it have anything to do with that?"

El looked at him with disappointment. "Oh, did Neal tell you? I asked him not to."

Peter replied, "No, he didn't tell me. I just guessed from something he said about seeing me this weekend. You just confirmed it, though."

"Oh, I thought a surprise party would be fun. I guess now I'll have to tell everybody that you know about it," lamented El.

"Surprise parties are fun," Peter agreed. "Why don't we just pretend I don't know. I can act surprised anyway."

"Oh Hon, that would be great," El said appreciatively. "We have everything all planned."

Peter walked around the office all day on Friday like he was the one with a secret. Everyone was relieved that for once he wasn't worrying about what Neal was doing.

What Neal was doing was trying to put the final touches on his present for Peter. He complained, "I thought you said it would be ready today."

The other man shrugged, "Well, it's going to be tomorrow. Nothing I can do about it. Tomorrow afternoon."

Neal sighed, "Okay, but I have to have it done by tomorrow evening so please have it ready as soon as you can."

When he got home, Neal complained to Mozzie, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted anyone else. You and I should have done it ourselves."

"Don't worry. Artie's a good guy. He'll come through for you. Does Suit know about the party or is it a surprise?" Mozzie asked.

"It's a fake surprise party. Peter knows about it but we're all pretending he doesn't," explained Neal.

Mozzie shook his head. "Nothing is ever simple with you two, is it? Well, let me know if you need any help tomorrow, but I'm sure everything will be okay."

Neal said, "You're coming to the party, aren't you? I want everyone to be there when I give Peter his present."

"Of course, I will. June always has excellent wine and El throws a good party."

Neal was nervous all Saturday morning but he helped June and El get everything set up for the party. Early in the afternoon, he excused himself to go check on his present. To his horror, the shop was closed and a sign on the door said, "Not open until Monday."

The first thing he did was call Mozzie. He said fiercely, "Get over here right now! I need your help. Your pal let me down"

Mozzie placated him, "Don't worry, Neal. We'll take care of it. It will be okay."

They ended up having to break into the store. The job was not completed so they had finish it themselves. Neal looked at his watch and was glad to see they could still make it to the party before Peter got there.

That was until the alarms started going off and the police burst in. Neal and Mozzie were trying hard to explain what they were doing there, but the police weren't interested in listening to them.

At June's, everyone was gathered except for Neal and Mozzie. When Peter and El arrived, they all shouted, "Surprise!"

Peter did his best to act surprised. He looked around at his friends gathered there, but he didn't see Neal anywhere. He felt a little let down.

El was concerned when she realized Neal and Mozzie were missing. She tried to call their cell phones but neither one answered. She wondered where they could be.

The police had taken their cell phones away with everything else they had in their pockets when they brought them to the police station. At least Neal had talked them into bringing the birthday present, too.

Finally, Neal was allowed to make a phone call and he called Elizabeth. She didn't answer, so he tried Peter. Neal was relieved to hear Peter's familiar voice. He said plaintively, "Peter, I have a problem. Mozzie and I are at the police station and we need you to come and help us get out of an awkward situation."

Peter sighed, "I knew you'd been up to something. What is it, Neal?"

"You'll see when you get here," Neal stalled. "It's a surprise."

"Really, Neal. I know about my birthday party. The only surprise is that you're not here."

"Um, could you bring Elizabeth when you come?" Neal asked nervously.

"What? Why? Oh never mind. I'll bring her," Peter agreed.

Peter and El arrived at the police station only to find out that Neal and Mozzie had just left. The police had released them and they'd hailed a cab.

Peter cursed. "I can't believe this. He called me to come get him. He couldn't wait for me to get here?"

El laughed, "Oh Hon, I'm sure he had his reasons. He was probably embarrassed. Let's just go back to the party."

When they got back to June's house, all the lights were turned off except the ones in Neal's rooms upstairs. Peter moaned, "Oh great. It looks like everyone has gone home now. Leave it to Neal to spoil my birthday party."

They were greeted at the door by June's housekeeper. She said pleasantly, "Oh Agent and Mrs. Burke. June's expecting you. Please come in."

They followed her to the living room where all the lights were suddenly turned on and everyone jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!"

In the middle of the room, Neal was standing by an easel with a cover over it. He gave Peter a brilliant smile and said, "I have a special present for you!"

Elizabeth pushed Peter forward to remove the cover from the easel. Peter stared at the framed painting in front of him. It was a collection of meticulous miniature portraits of everyone there arranged artfully around a larger portrait of himself. Each portrait was signed by its subject and in the corner he noted Neal's initials.

"I'm speechless!" Peter stuttered. "This is so nice, Neal - and such a surprise. Is this what you've been working on so hard?"

"It is," confessed Neal proudly. "We ran into a little problem this afternoon. I took it to a shop to be framed, but they closed without getting it done, so Mozz and I had to break in and finish the framing and get it so we could bring it for the party."

"Unfortunately, we failed to disable the alarm and the gendarmes took exception to us being there without permission," added Mozzie, "that is, until I called my friend Artie who owns the shop. I was very disappointed in Artie for not completing the framing as he promised."

June broke in, "Well, never mind dears. Everyone is here now. Let's all sing Happy Birthday to Peter and serve the cake!"

Later everyone gathered around to look at the completed painting that they had all posed for and signed. Even Reese Hughes was impressed. Jones and Diana were still laughing about Neal's trouble with the police. Mozzie was secretly excited to have been included. June was pleased by the flattering picture of herself.

El took Peter's arm and asked lovingly, "Are you happy, Hon?"

Peter smiled and admitted, "Very happy and very surprised, too."

**Author's Note:**

> White Collar characters were created by Jeff Eastin for the series on USA TV (now on Netflix & Amazon).


End file.
